Multicolor-printing machine



' No. 752,899 PATENTED FEB. 23, 1904.

J. L. FIRM.

MULTIGOLOR PRINTING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 17, 1902.

no 1101121.. 2 snnnzrs-snnsn.

IV 2 I X 72W No. 752,896.v PATENTED FEB. 23, 1904;

I Y J. L. FIRM.

MULTIGOLOR. PRINTING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED NQV. 17,1902.

K0 MODEL. 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

w r W 2 Patented February 23, 1904.

PATENT OFFIC JOSEPH FIRM, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

MULTICOLOR-PRINTING MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No- 752,896, dated February23, 1904; Application filed November 17, 1902. Serial No. 131,721. (Nomodel.)

To all whom it may concern: I

Be it known that I, JOSEPH L. FIRM, a'citizen of the United States,residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois,

have invented certain new and useful Improve-- ments inMulticolor-Printing Machines, of which the following is a specification,reference being had to the accompanying drawings. My invention relatesto rotary multicolorprinting presses in which two or more colors areprinted upon one side of a web; and its object is to provide mechanismby which the mixing of the colors from one impression-cylinder toanother when one color is overlaid upon another may be prevented and auniformity of color-printing thereby secured.

Heretofore there has been considerable trouble in multicolor-presses,caused by the fact that the color printed upon the web by the firstcolor-impression cylinder is transferred more or less, according to themoisture of the color, from the web to the second color-impressioncylinder when the second color-cylinder is designed to overlay a secondcolor upon the first. This causes a blending of the first color with thesecond, which increases as the press is used until the color isconsiderably changed and a uniformity ofcolor-printing prevented. Forinstance, suppose that it is designed to print upon one side of the weba block of green color. To do this, the block is printed by the firstcolor-cylinder with blue ink. The web thus printed with the block ofblue is carried to a second colorcylinder bearing a corresponding block,which will register with the imprint of the first block and which issupplied with yellow. The yellow color overlaid upon the blue willproduce the required green. The blue block of color, however, reachingthe second impression-cylinder in a somewhat moist condition will leavea certain portion of the blue from the web upon the yellow block of thesecond form-cylinder, and when the yellow ink is supplied again theslight portion of blue left upon the block, as above described. Thiswill cause a slight difference in the shade of the yellow supplied thenext time, and this increases until the color is considerably to thisblock it will mix with changed. The same of course is true if red andblue are overlaid to produce purple, or red and yellow to produceorange, and so on. The trouble is still further increased if othercolors are used to overlay the first two, the two first colors beingcarried along more or less moist by the web to the nextimpression-cylinder and thence transferred to the nextimpression-cylinder until that color also is blended with the colorsfrom the first two cylinders.

It is the object of my invention to do away with this difliculty, and Iattain it by means of the mechanism heretofore described, as illustratedin the drawings,

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a diagrammatic side elevation view ofseveral inking, impression, and form cylinders of a press. is anenlarged detail, being an end View of one of the cylinders to which theink is transferred and showing the mechanism by which the wipers arerotated. Fig. 3 is an enlarged detail, being an end parts shown in Fig.2, together with a portion of the frame of the press.

.Referring to the drawings, web of paper.

5, 6, 7, and 8 indicate guide-rollers.

' 9, 10, 11, 12, and 13 indicate form-cylinders- 4; indicates a 1415 16indicate impression-cylinders, im-

pression-cylinder 14 coacting with form-cylinder 9, impression-cylinder15 coacting with formcylinders 10 and 13, and impressioncylinder 16coacting with form-cylinders 11 and 12..

The several form and impression cylinders rotate in the directionindicated by arrows in Fig. 1.

17, 18, 19, 20, and 21 indicate ink-cylinders of the usual form andconstruction and supplied with the usual ink and distributing rolls 22,which operate in the usual well-known manner and receive ink fromink-fountains 23, 24, 25, 26, and 2?. vAs these ink-rollers anddistributing-rolls act in the usual well.- known manner, it is notnecessary to describe them further here. i

The web 4: is led over guide-rolls 5 and 6 between form-cylinder 9 andimpression-cylinder 14:, where it is printed upon one side with blackink. It-is then led past guide-roll Fig. 2

vlew, broken away, of the 7 between form-cylinderlO andimpressioncylinder 15, where it is printed upon the second side with onecolor. The web then passes between form-cylinder 11 andimpression-cylinder 16, whereit is printed upon the second side with thesecond color. It then passes downward under and partly around impression-cylinder 16 and between it and form-cylinder 12, where it isprinted uponthe second side again with a third color. It then passesupward between form-cylinder 13 and impression-cylinder 15, where it isprinted upon the second side with black ink or, if desired, with afourth color, although that would be unusual. The web thus printed inblack upon one side and in three colors and black upon the other sidepasses over the guide-r0118 and out of the press, to be delivered in anywellknown and approved manner. (Not shown.)

28 29 indicate rollers which are preferably of a circumference equal toone-half the circumference of the form-cylinders and run'at the samesurface speed as the form-cylinders.

Rollers 28 and 29 are covered with compositionand rotating in thedirection shown by arrows in Fig. 1 bear against the plates upon theform-cylinders 11 and 12.

30 and 31, 32 and 33 indicate composition rollers, 30 and 31 bearingagainst the roller 28 and 32 and 33 against the roller 29, rotating inthe direction indicated by arrows in Fig. 1.

34 35 indicate drums or receiving-cylinders which bear, respectively,against the rollers 30 and 31 and the rollers 32 and 33 and rotate inthe direction indicated by arrows in Fig. 1.

36, 37 and 38 indicate wipers which bear upon the surface of the drum orreceiving-cylinder 34, and 39, 40, and 41 indicate wipers which bearagainst the surface of the drum or receiving-cylinder 35. These wipersare preferably the kind described in Letters Patent to me, No. 374,355,of December 6, 1887, and as therein described consist of a metallicshaft covered with a fabric, such as Brussels carpet, upon which iswound a covering of unbleachedmuslin, which is adapted to take up theink, as hereinafter described, and when fouled may be readily removedand replaced.

Referring particularly to Figs. 2 and 3, 42 indicates a shaft upon whichthe cylinder 34 is mounted. 43 indicates an eccentric keyed upon thesaid shaft. 44 indicates a rectangular strap within which the eccentric43 turns and which is provided with two bearing-arms 45. Thebearing-arms 45 slide in guides 46, which are secured to the inside partof the frame 47. As the drum 34 rotates the eccentric 43, acting uponthe strap 44, causes the strap to reciprocate the arms 45, sliding inthe guides 46. 47 48, and 49 indicate ratchetwheels which are keyed orotherwise-secured to the shafts upon which the rollers 36, 37, and 38are mounted. 50 indicates dogs which are pivoted to suitable portions ofthe frame 47 and engage the teeth of the ratchet-wheels 47, 48, and 49and operate to hold them agalnst rotation in the direction opposite tothat indicated by the arrows on the wheels 47 48, and 49 in Fig. 2. 51,52, and 53 indicate pawls which are pivotally mounted upon the strap 44and engage, respectively, with the teeth of the ratchet-wheels 47, 48,and 49. In the construction indicated the pawls 51 and 53 are kept incontact with the ratchet-wheels 47 and '49 by means of springs 54 55,and the pawl 52 is kept in contact with-the ratchetwheel 48 by gravity.It is obvious that with each reciprocation of the strap 44 the pawlswill engage with the ratchet-wheels 48 and operate to give them partialrotation in the direction indicated by the arrows in Fig. 2. Forinstance, when the strap is moved upward and to the right in Fig. 2 thepawls 51 and 52 will engage the teeth of the ratchet-wheels 47 and 48and give the wipers 36 and 37 a partial'rotation in the directionindicated by the arrows in Fig. 2. When the strap is reciprocated in theopposite direction, the pawls 51 and 52 will slip over the teeth of theratchets 47 and 48, while the pawl 53 will engage with the teeth of theratchet-wheel 49 and give to the wiper 38 a partial rotation in thedirection indicated by the arrow. It is of course clearly understoodthat the mechanism illustrated in Fig. 2, which has been described asconnected with the drum or receiving-cylinders 34 and as operating thewipers 36, 37, and 38, is duplicated upon the drum or receiving-cylinder35 to operate the wipers 39, 40, and 41 in the same way with relation tothe rotation of the cylinder 34, as above described.

The operation of the above-described device is as follows: The webhaving been printed upon its first side in black by form-cylinder 9 andupon the second side in a color by formcylinder 10, passes, as abovedescribed, to form-cylinder 11. As, form-cylinder 11 continues itsrotation after having printed the second color upon the second side ofthe web the composition roller 28, bearing upon the form, operates totake the ink from the form or plate and leave it clean for a secondsupplyof ink from the roller 19 and distributing-rollers 22. Thecomposition rollers 30 and 31 then acting upon the composition roller 28operate to remove the ink taken from the form-cylinder 11 from thecomposition roller 28 and distribute it upon the surface of the drum orreceiving-cylinder 34. From the drum or receiving-cylinder the ink iswiped clean by the wipers 36, 37 and 38, operating in the manner abovedescribed. The result of this is that the form upon the form-cylinder 11has the surplus ink removed from it after it has done its printing, andit comes up clean to receive asupply of ink from the ink-fountain 25,thus preventing a transference and constant addition of color from theform-cylinder 10 to the form-cylinder 11 and preserving a uniformity ofcolor in the overlay. The composition roller 29-and composition rollers32 and 33, the receiving drum or cylinder 35, and wipers 39,40, and 4:1operate in the same manner upon form-cylinder 12 as the correspondingparts above described operate upon form-cylinder 11 and prevent aconstant carrying over and addition of the colors from form-cylinders 10and 11 to the surface of form-cylinder 12, where, if not so removed,they would, as stated above, constantly mix in ever-increasingquantities with the colored ink supplied to form-cylinder 12 fromink-fountain 26.

By the mechanism above described three overlays of color, one upon theother, in large blocks may be effected and at the same time uniformityof color secured. As formcylinder 18 is used only to' print black inkupon the second side of the web in the construction shown and as thisblack ink will not be overlaid upon th e previously-printed color, it isnot necessary in the construction shown and when so used to provide theform-cylinder 13 with the cleaning devices as above described.

That which I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by LettersPatent, is

1. In a multicolor-printing machine, the combination with aform-cylinder, impressioncylinder and inking mechanism adapted to printupon one side of a Web, of a second form cylinder, coacting impressioncylinder and inking mechanism adapted to print a second color upon thesame side of a web, and mechanism bearing against said secondform-cylinder at a point on its surface before it receives ink from saidinking mechanism, and adapted to remove from said second formcylinderink ofiset upon said cylinder from said web, substantially as described.

2. In a rotary multicol0rprinting machine,

the combination with a form-cylinder, coacting impression-cylinder andinking mechanism adapted to print one color upon one side of a web, anda second form-cylinder, coacting impression-cylinder and inkingmechanism adapted to print a second color upon the same side of the web,of a receiving-drum, wipers bearing upon the surface of saidreceiving-drum, and adapted to remove the ink ceiving-drum and upon saidsecond form-cylinder at a part of the surface of said secondform-cylinder prior to its receiving ink from its inking mechanism, andadapted to transfer to said receiving-drum ink oifset upon said secondform-cylinder from said web, substantially as described. 7 p

3. In a rotary multicolor-printing machine, the combination with aform-cylinder, coacting impression-cylinder and inking mechanism adaptedto print one color upon one side of a web, and a second form-cylinder,coact ing impression-cylinder and inking mechanism adapted to print asecond color upon the same side of the web, of a receiving-drum,

wiping-rolls adapted to bear upon the surface of said receiving-drum andremove the ink therefrom, mechanism adapted to intermittently rotatesaid wiping-rolls against the movement of said receiving-drum, androllers bearing upon said receiving-drum and upon said secondform-cylinder at a part of the surface of said second form-cylinderprior to its receiving ink from its inking mechanism, and adapted totransfer to said receiving-drum ink ofiset upon said secondform-cylinder from said web, substantially as described.

JOSEPH L. FIRM.

Witnesses:

' C. E. PIGKARD,

M. A. KENNEDY.

5 therefrom, and rollers bearing upon said re-

